Nova Patents
US7124294B2

Electronic certificate system

Summary by NHIP

Electronic Certificate Validation System

The system limits certificate validity checks by issuing permits with expiration dates and use limits to a second user apparatus. A certificate validity checking apparatus verifies these permit constraints before validating the electronic certificate and returning the result.

Claim Score by NHIP

Read claim 1, the broadest

Abstract

In order to limit users who can check for validity of a certificate in a system which uses public key certificates, a validity check permit permitting a request to check for validity of the certificate is issued by a permit issuing server 120 to the applicant of the certificate. The certificate applicant sends the validity check permit to a relevant user when the certificate is used (step 701). When having a certificate validity checking server check for validity of the certificate, the user sends the validity check permit of the certificate to be checked to the certificate validity checking server (step 704). The certificate validity checking server verifies the validity check permit (step 706).

US7124294B2, drawing sheet 1
Sheet 1 of 12

Term

Term ended

Expired 2 August 2024, 2.1 years ago.

  1. Priority
  2. Filed
  3. Granted
  4. Expired
  5. Today

37 claims: 4 independent, 33 dependent

  1. 1
    Broadest claimClaim Score 46, average(NHIP)An electronic certificate system that uses an electronic certificate, comprising:a first user apparatus used by an issuee of the electronic certificate;a second user apparatus, connected with the first user apparatus over a network, that receives required data and the electronic certificate that are sent from the first user apparatus;and a certificate validity checking apparatus, connected with the network, that receives request information indicating a request to check for validity of the electronic certificate and validity check permission information indicating that checking for validity of the electronic certificate is permitted, which are sent from the second user apparatus;detects an expiration date of a validity check permit and an upper limit on a number of uses of the validity check permit based on the received validity check permission information;checks whether the expiration date has not passed and whether an accounted number of uses of the validity check permission is smaller than the upper limit;if the expiration date has not passed and the accounted number is smaller than the upper limit, checks for validity of the electronic certificate;and sends the result of the check processing to the second user apparatus.
  2. 12
    A validity checking apparatus for an electronic certificate connected over a network with a first user apparatus used by an issuee of the electronic certificate, and a second user apparatus that is connected with the first user apparatus over the network and receives required data and the electronic certificate from the first user apparatus, the validity checking apparatus comprising:a network connection part connected with the network;and a control unit, connected with the network connection part and a storage unit in which a program is stored, that receives request information indicating a request to check for validity of the electronic certificate and validity check permission information indicating that checking for validity of the electronic certificate is permitted, from the second user apparatus according to the program, detects an expiration date of a validity check permit and an upper limit on a number of uses of the validity check permit based on the received validity check permission information, checks whether the expiration date has not passed and whether an accounted number of uses of the validity check permission is smaller than the upper limit and if the expiration date has not passed and the accounted number is smaller than the upper limit, checks for validity of the electronic certificate, wherein the network connection part sends the result of the check processing to the second user apparatus.
  3. 23
    A program storable in a medium readable by a computer connected over a network with a first user apparatus used by an issuee of an electronic certificate, and a second user apparatus that is connected with the first user apparatus over the network and receives required data and the electronic certificate from the first user apparatus, the program including the following steps executed by the computer:receiving request information indicating a request to check for validity of the electronic certificate and validity check permission information indicating that checking for validity of the electronic certificate is permitted from the second user apparatus;detecting an expiration date of a validity check permit and an upper limit on a number of uses of the validity check permit based on the received validity check permission information;checking whether the expiration date has not passed and whether an accounted for number of uses of the validity check permission is smaller than the upper limit;if the expiration date has not passed and the accounted number is smaller than the upper limit, checking for validity of the electronic certificate;and sending the result of the check processing to the second user apparatus.
  4. 34
    A certificate validity checking method that uses a system in which plural terminals and a server apparatus are connected with each other over a network, and for requesting to check for validity of an electronic certificate delivered from a terminal included in the plural terminals, and that allows the server apparatus to check for validity of the certificate, the method including the steps of:sending validity check permission information indicating that a first terminal included in the plural terminals permits checking for validity of the certificate in the server apparatus, and the certificate to a second terminal included in the plural terminals;the second terminal receiving the validity check permission information and the certificate and sending the validity check permission information and a request to check for validity of the certificate to the server apparatus;and the server apparatus receiving the validity check permission information sent from the second terminal, detecting an expiration date of validity check permit and an upper limit on a number of uses of the validity check permit based on the received validity check permission information, checking whether the expiration date has not passed and whether an accounted number of uses of the validity check permission is smaller than the upper limit and if the expiration date has not passed and the accounted number is smaller than the upper limit, checking for validity of the certificate.
Independent claims4